Takeaways From the Cloudflare Internet Summit

Last month, we hosted our WP Engine Summit and came out of it energized, inspired and ready-for-action. Following up fashionably this month, Cloudflare came out blazing with their 4th annual Internet Summit in San Francisco. 

We announced our partnership with Cloudflare in early September and are incredibly excited about our momentum with our Global Edge Security product. We’re able to deliver a new level of security and performance in partnership with Cloudflare. On that exciting note, we had the opportunity to spend time at Cloudflare Customer Day.

Cloudflare took the spotlight and shared all the innovative things they’re doing to build a better internet. Without divulging too much, there have been some game-changing announcements that Cloudflare will continue to build on. This includes a headache free domain registrar, solution to a messy internet, and support for shiny new protocols. 

The next day was the Internet Summit. This is a day-long event featuring compelling, energizing conversations around the state and future of the internet. From some of the most innovative minds in the world, these lively discussions were mostly around cryptography, cybersecurity, global thinking, and internet regulation. As the day was jam-packed with visionary goodness, I’d highly suggest watching the recorded live stream here. 

The @Cloudflare #internetsummit is in full swing! Cheers to making the internet better..together pic.twitter.com/SlVtkBUbC7

— Tony Le (@tonywpe) October 4, 2018

Here were some highlights from the sessions that I attended:

Creating Usable Security For Everyone

Adrienne Porter Felt, Engineering Manager for Google Chrome, and Roselle Safran, President of Rosint Labs, discussed the challenges of striking a balance of building a product that’s usable for everyone while still being secure as possible. The biggest takeaway? Practicing empathy makes the difference to understand what users are trying to do. Thus, security professionals can better educate people on digital security.

Kids and Technology: How Do We Keep Them Safe and Sane

As technology continues to evolve, content becomes more accessible and applications become easier to use for kids. As scary and intimidating as it sounds, Jill Murphy, VP & Editor-in-Chief of Common Sense Media, and Sara DeWitt, VP of PBS KIDS Digital, discuss ways parents can approach this phenomenon confidently while capitalizing on teachable moments.

What Lies Ahead for Cryptography & Why It Matters

As Dr. Dan Boneh, Professor of Computer Science in the Applied Cryptography Group at Stanford University, emphasized, cryptography goes beyond encrypting data. It entails the science of protecting information which crosses into many different fields of expertise. Examples include blockchain technology, Prio, and Intel SGX. Major kudos to Dr. Dan Boneh for leading the front on really exciting technology and helping build a better internet.

Cryptocurrencies: What Are They Good For?

Nathan Wilcox, CTO of Zcash, and Adam Ludwin, CEO of Interstellar, define cryptocurrency and what it could look like in the future. As blockchain continues to evolve, Nathan and Adam highlight some obstacles that cryptocurrencies will encounter during the transformation process. As Adam says, “We need much more product management and product design in the cryptocurrency industry. People in the cryptocurrency world don’t talk to enough people.”

Stopping the Global Spread of Disinformation

In today’s fast-paced, noisy world, we’re more susceptible to disinformation, fake news, and inaccuracies more than ever. John Scott-Railton, Senior Researcher of The Citizen Lab, and Julie Owono, Executive Director of Internet Without Borders, shed some light on how we can slow down this problem. As John emphasized, “Disinformation is about selling ideas. Disinformation is marketing, the product is feeling, and the profit is behavior.” With this pattern in mind, it’s important to understand what’s happening outside of U.S. borders as it can foreshadow what’s possible from within.

And just like that, another summit goes by and we’re wondering where the time went. Many thanks to the Cloudflare team for throwing a phenomenal event. Looking forward to what the future holds for the internet. With so many visionaries in the house (and by the house, I mean world), I’m pretty optimistic.

By the way, the highlights were really just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a ton to absorb. If you’re interested in diving deeper, check out the recorded live stream!

Onward and outward!